As campaigning begins for the September 18 polls for parliament and provincial councils, the Afghan government and international monitors must take special measures to protect women from attacks and intimidation by the Taliban and regional warlords.

Professor Yakin Ertürk, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and consequences, issued the following statement in Kabul today at the end of a visit to Afghanistan.

Afghan women protest at the silence and inactivity of the Afghan government regarding the recent killings in Baghlan (3 women raped and murdered for NGO activity), and in Badakshan (1 woman stoned to death).